Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse Announces Innovative Virtual Fall Season: Here. Now. Next!

Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse is seizing the opportunity this fall for students, staff, guests and artistic teams to innovate and produce a body of work in a bold, exciting and different way. Here. Now. Next! is a diverse, alternative virtual fall season of creative work, including theatre and dance productions, the new virtual Dance Speaker Series and a reimagined Media Innovators Speaker Series.

The virtual fall season includes several new works, such as the first reading of the newly launched New Play Reading Series; a new, evening-length production co-created by Adil Mansoor, professional director and theatre maker, along with performers, artists and designers in quarantine; and a partnership with composer/lyricist Adam Gwon and the renowned director Dave Solomon entitled Ordinary Days.

The season will also include groundbreaking presentations of additional theatre and dance productions, captured and delivered in captivating ways for the digital medium.

Dance Speaker Series

The virtual Dance Speaker series brings together Point Park alumni and guest artists to guide and mentor the stars of tomorrow. Check out the impressive lineup and RSVP online to join us.

Theatre and Dance Productions

ChoreoLab 1

Broadcast: Oct. 28 – Nov. 1

Conservatory dance students and faculty collaborate in the choreographic process to create incredible works that showcase the creative and innovative brilliance of seasoned professionals and budding young artists.

New Play Reading Series – Production 1

Broadcast: Oct. 28 – Nov. 1

Featuring readings of original plays and/or musicals not previously produced. Be among the first to see an artistic work come to life!

Water by the Spoonful

Broadcast: Nov. 18 – 22

By Quiara Alegria Hudes
Directed by Christie Vela

A stunning digital presentation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning play. Somewhere in a chat room, the boundaries of family and community are stretched across continents and cyberspace as birth families splinter and online families collide.

Student Choreography Project

Broadcast: Nov. 18 – 22

A creative variation of the live performance, this fresh, new take will feature the works and the dancers of tomorrow performed today.

Picasso at the Lapin Agile

Broadcast: Dec. 2 – 6

By Steve Martin
Directed by Jenny Lester

An off-Broadway favorite, this infectious, absurdist comedy brings together Albert Einstein and Pablo Picasso in a Parisian café, just before Einstein transformed physics and Picasso set the art world afire. A fast and loose story of fact, fame and fortune, the renowned geniuses muse on the century’s achievements and opportunities, along with other fanciful topics.

Voting as an Act of Love (working title)

Broadcast: Dec. 9 – 13

Developed and directed by professional director/theatre-maker, Adil Mansoor

Amidst the current pandemic, artists are urgently asking, “What makes us essential?” In her American Theatre article, “This is What We Do Now,” Caridad Svich shares that she “would like to think that theatre is its people – all of them, and not just some.” Devised by an ensemble of performers, designers, and artists in quarantine, Voting as an Act of Love centers on its ensemble and their stories. Using devising techniques and anchored with social justice frameworks, docudrama methodologies and media tools, the ensemble will build a new, evening-length performance for the digital commons.

Ordinary Days

Broadcast: Dec. 9 - 13

Music & Lyrics by Adam Gwon
Directed by Dave Solomon
Musical Direction by Camille Rolla

Set in New York City, this musical follows four characters exploring how their ordinary lives connect in the most amazing ways. Working in partnership with composer/lyricist Adam Gwon, this show will be digitally produced with two casts, further developing the work for a new digital life.

ChoreoLab 2

Broadcast: Dec. 16 - 20

Conservatory dance students and dance department faculty join forces once again to create imaginative and clever dance works that demonstrate the strength and versatility of our students, and the artistry for which the dance department faculty are renowned.

Media Innovators Speaker Series

The Media Innovators Speaker Series will be offering a variety of free, virtual discussions via Point Park’s Center for Media Innovation (CMI). Programming will appear on CMI’s Facebook and YouTube pages. Please check back to this story as dates are confirmed.

Topics include:

The opportunities and challenges covering the NHL virtually;
The TikTok revolution;
Why it still pays off to report on lead poisoning, featuring Erica Hensley, Mississippi Today health reporter and augural winner of the Doris O’Donnell Innovations in Investigative Journalism Fellowship;
How Pittsburgh media outlets have been coping during the pandemic, Black Lives Matter and the media, among several events centered around politics and the upcoming presidential election.

Salena Zito, author of The Great Revolt: Inside the Populist Coalition Reshaping American Politics, conservative columnist and commentator at CNN, Washington Examiner, New York Post and The Wall Street Journal, will be joining the series on Thursday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

Additional information will be released as available on pittsburghplayhouse.com and via the Playhouse social media channels. Questions can be directed to the Playhouse box office by calling 412-392-8000 or emailing boxoffice@pointpark.edu.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we will be posting updates to this season’s schedule as we continue to monitor and comply with federal, state and local health and safety guidelines. To view Point Park University’s latest updates on COVID-19, visit the COVID-19 updates page.

Point Park University’s Pittsburgh Playhouse Announces Innovative Virtual Fall Season: Here. Now. Next! Wednesday, September 9, 2020